Automatic bundle loading apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

In an automatic loading system and method wheeled carts receive five or six layers of newspaper bundles of four to six bundles per layer. A waist-high conveyor and an inclined ramp conveyor move bundles to a roller platform of independently operated roller sections selectively halted upon receipt of a bundle. When the desired number of bundles have been delivered to the roller platform, a pusher laterally moves the bundles to a split roller platform. A second group of bundles are delivered to the roller platform and the split roller platform. The sections of the split roller platform are then abruptly pulled apart causing the bundles to drop upon a fork-like platform extending into one side of a cart receiving the bundles. The pusher is retracted to the start position and the fork-like platform is lowered to receive the next layer of bundles in a like manner. Once the cart is filled with the desired number of layers, the fork-like platform is withdrawn from the cart, the cart is advanced to a take-off location and the next cart is indexed to the receiving location, being guided thereto along guide rails. Each cart comprises a platform rolling upon casters and having an open top defined by four sides which form a cage-like structure. One side has lockable double doors to facilitate bundle removal. Cart sizes are desired to make efficient use of the truck cargo space receiving the carts.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to automatic loading systems, and moreparticularly, to a novel loading system for automatically loadingbundles into bundle receiving carts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The automatic loading system of the present invention is extremelyadvantageous for use in the newspaper industry. Newspapers pass throughthree basic stages before reaching the home consumer, typically referredto as the press room, mailroom and circulation stages. During the pressroom or printing stage, the newspapers are printed, cut and foldedwhereupon they are delivered to the mailroom for counting and bundlingwherein the bundle signatures are stacked into bundles of predeterminedcounts, typically selected according to the requirements of the finaldestination.

Completed bundles delivered from the mailroom facility into thecirculation phase in which bundles are typically delivered from themailroom into trucks by a conveyor, the bundles typically being removedmanually from the conveyor and loaded into the truck cargo space.

Inserts, such as, for example, advertising insets are typically placedin each newspaper. This is quite often the case for weekend newspapersand especially Sunday newspapers. The number of inserts is very oftenquite large and the size of the inserts typically vary and also deviatefrom the size of the newspaper. In addition, the insets are often placedinto the newspaper in a haphazard manner with the result that the majorside surfaces of the newspaper assume a bulging shape whichsignificantly deviates from a desirable pair of flat, substantiallyparallel surfaces. Bundles of a plurality of such signatures, whenwrapped or tied together assume a shape which significantly deviatesfrom a rectangular parallelepiped shape and, in fact, take on a shapesomewhat similar to that of a watermelon, such wrapped bundles ofnewspapers containing numerous insets typically being referred to as"watermelons". The insets are usually placed into the newspapers at therequest of local merchants or retailers to concentrate their advertisingin those areas within a reasonable distance from their locations. Thus,a newspaper intended for distribution over a large area may containdifferent inserts according to its final destination within itsdistribution area.

As a result, utilization of manual stacking operations in whichindividual bundles are manually removed from a delivery conveyor andplaced into the cargo space of a delivery van yields stacks of bundleswhich are unstable due to their "watermelon" shape.

In addition, manual loading techniques are slow and tedious and, sincethey are highly labor intensive, significantly increase the operatingcosts for the circulation phase.

Techniques which have been developed to reduce the circulation phaseoperating costs include the development of loading carts each of whichare comprised of cage-like sidewalls mounted upon a platform providedwith casters for enhancing portability. At least one side surface of thecart is provided with a hingedly mounted door which is unlocked andopened for the purpose of receiving bundles. When the cart is loaded,the door is swung closed and locked enabling the cart to be loaded (i.e.pushed) into the cargo space. The carts are dimensioned so as to makethe most economic use of the total cargo space volume. The carts arepreferably of a boxlike shape and are capable of receiving a pluralityof layers of newspaper bundles, each layer comprising a plurality ofbundles. In one example the cart is designed to receive a layer of fourbundles arranged in two-by-two fashion (i.e. two rows of two bundles perrow), for example, or six bundles arranged in three-by-two fashion (i.e.three rows of two bundles per row or two rows of three bundles per row),the cart having a height capable of accommodating of the order of fiveor six such layers.

The sidewalls of the cart are sufficiently sturdy to support the bundlesstacked therein without danger of toppling over even in the event that"watermelon-shaped" bundles are stacked therein.

When the truck reaches the final destination, the carts are removed fromthe cargo space and unloaded.

Although the above technique makes efficient use of the cargo space andsimplifies the manual operations somewhat as well as assuring theintegrity of the layers of bundles contained within each cart, the abovetechnique, although a significant improvement upon the first-describedmanual technique, is nevertheless highly labor intensive and furtherremains a slow and tedious procedure.

It is therefore a principal object of The present invention to provide anovel, substantially fully automated loading technique whichsignificantly increases and improves the loading time and efficiencywhich leads to a number of improvements which are also obtained as adirect result of the automated system.

The automated system of the present invention is characterized bycomprising a ramp conveyor which receives signature bundles from aconventional delivery conveyor set at a typical height of the order ofthree feet above a ground or floor surface, the ramp conveyor deliveringsignature bundles to a first roller platform assembly positioned above aloading location adapted to receive a cart.

The platform roller assembly is comprised of a plurality ofindependently operable power roller sections arranged in tandem fashion,each roller section being capable of accommodating a signature bundle.The number of roller sections provided is dependent upon the capacity ofthe carts receiving the bundles and is sufficient to receive the numberof bundles found in each row making up one bundle layer within the cartas well as additional roller sections sufficient to act as a bufferstorage for storing an equal number of additional bundles therebydoubling the system operating speed.

Each roller section is equipped with sensing means for sensing thepresence of a bundle thereon whereupon the power delivered to a rollersection receiving a bundle is turned off after a predetermined delay.

When the roller sections have received a quantity of bundles sufficientto complete a row, an automatic pusher pushes the bundles making up thecompleted row in a direction transverse to the delivery direction andonto a split platform assembly comprised of a pair of slidable platformsections, each preferably incorporating a plurality of free-wheelingrollers.

Initially the split platform assembly is in the closed position. Thepusher means pushes a first row of bundles onto the far end of the splitplatform adjacent to which is an end wall member which prevents thefirst row of bundles from being pushed beyond the far end of the splitplatform. The pusher means rapidly returns to the start position,whereupon a number of bundles sufficient to complete the next row ismoved onto the roller sections from which bundles are delivered to thesplit platform assembly, additional bundles being delivered to thebuffer roller assemblies for temporary storage thereon.

As soon as the bundles reach the roller sections aligned with the pushermeans, the pusher means moves the bundles from the roller sections ontothe split platform assembly to complete one layer of bundles. The pusherassembly moves approximately half the distance in delivering the secondrow of bundles as compared with the length of travel experienced by thepusher means in delivering the first row of bundles whereupon the splitplatform assembly now contains a quantity of bundles sufficient to formone layer for delivery to a cart.

At this time, the split platform assembly is operated, causing theslidable platform halves to move apart abruptly, allowing the bundles todrop into a cart which has been indexed to the loading position. Thebundles which are dropped from the split platform fall only a shortdistance onto a platform comprised of a plurality of tines arranged toform a fork-like platform adapted to be reciprocated into the cart beingloaded, the fork-like platform being arranged with its tinesinterspersed with the vertically aligned spaced parallel bars of anadjacent cart sidewall, the interrelationship between the cage-like barsand the fork-like tines providing non-interfering clearancetherebetween.

When the bundles making up a layer have been collected upon thefork-like platform, the platform is indexed downwardly a distanceequivalent to one layer, whereupon the aforementioned operations arerepeated to load additional layers of bundles within the cart.

Alternatively, the system control, by way of a software routine, mayindex each layer of bundles with the vertically movable fork-likeplatform to its lowest position (just above the previous layer) and thenretract the tines carrying the layer or bundles to be "dropped" on topof the platform of the cart, or the previous layer, as the case may be.

When the desired number of layers have been deposited in the cart, thefork-like platform is withdrawn from the cage-like cart, the bars of thecage sidewall cooperating to provide a "scraping" action, the barsserving to remove or "scrape" the layers of bundles stacked upon thefork-like platform from the platform as it is withdrawn from the cartthe layers of bundles removed from the platform being retained withinthe cart and being stacked in substantially neat fashion. Even assumingthe bundles being stacked are "watermelon-shaped" the cart neverthelessserves to retain stacks of signature bundles contained therein in asubstantially neat and compartmentalized manner, which is especiallyimportant for delivery groupings wherein the contents of each cart maybe of a particular bundle count and are scheduled for delivery todifferent destinations.

When the loading of the cart is completed, drive means moves the loadedcart from the loading position towards the next station, which istypically the truck loading dock. Simultaneously therewith the nextempty cart is advanced and indexed to the cart loading position Thecarts are moved along guide tracks to facilitate alignment in onedirection. Sensor means are provided to accurately align the cart at theloading position whereupon the initial operating steps are repeatednamely, the fork-like platform is reinserted into the cart located atthe loading position and positioned near the top, open end of the cart,bundles are advanced along the delivery and ramp conveyors to theforwardmost roller sections (if they have not already been deliveredthereto), and a row of bundles is then pushed onto the split platform,these steps being repeated for the present and each subsequent cart tobe loaded.

Each cart is preferably provided with either a fixed or a variablecoding means which may respectively comprise a bar code pattern uniqueto each cart or a changeable memory means such as a RAM. Electronicsensor means identifies each cart and associates the data bundles storedtherein with the cart identification developing a data group in whichthe number of bundles and their destination are associated with the cartnumber.

As one example, each cart delivered to the loading dock may be sensed bya hand-held unit providing identification of the bundle quantity anddestination to facilitate delivery of each cart to the proper truck.

The carts preferably have one sidewall comprised of hingedly mounteddouble doors which are each independently lockable and releasableenabling the contents of each cart to be unloaded in stages. Although itis preferable that each cart be provided with sidewalls and doors whichare of an open, cage-like design, it is necessary to provide only onesuch cage-like sidewall to facilitate unimpeded entry and removal of thefork-like platform from the cart. In the event that all of the sidewallsare comprised of a plurality of vertically aligned bars, horizontalreinforcing members are provided along at least three of the sidewallsto provide a cart with adequate structural strength.

In the preferred embodiments, the carts are designed to stack five orsix layers of bundles with each layer made up of either two rows of twobundles per row or three rows of two bundles per row. However, a greateror lesser number of bundles per layer and layers per cart may beutilized to accommodate the particular application.

The loading system of the present invention improves efficiency andproductivity to such a large extent that the same truck may be utilizedto complete two or more deliveries in the time required to complete onedelivery or less using prior art techniques thus significantly reducingcapital expenditures for the number of trucks required as well assignificantly reducing direct expenditures for personnel, fuel costs,and other related overhead expenditures.

Although the present invention has been described as being extremelyadvantageous for use in the distribution of newspapers and particularlynewspaper bundles, it should be understood that the system is capable ofloading other types of packages and/or boxes into the holding cartsdescribed herein and the packages need not be of uniform size althoughit is preferred that the packages be limited to a maximum size.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a novelmethod and system for automatically loading packages, bundles or thelike into loading carts.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novelsystem for improving the efficiency of a delivery network utilized todeliver a number of packages to a variety of destinations and whereinthe packages need not be of uniform size and shape.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novelmethod and apparatus for assembling and loading bundles, packages andthe like in which the loading operation is substantially fullyautomated.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novelmethod and apparatus for handling and loading bundles, packages and thelike into loading carts wherein the bundles or packages are loaded onelayer at a time into said carts.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novelmethod and apparatus for stacking and loading bundles, packages and thelike within the cargo space of vehicles wherein the system utilizescarts of novel design to facilitate loading, transportation andunloading of the carts.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novelsystem for identifying the carts and their contents which identificationsystem forms an integral part of an automated loading system tofacilitate prompt and efficient delivery of the carts to the properlocations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The above, as well as other objects of the present invention will becomeapparent when reading the accompanying description and drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a system designed in accordance withthe principles of the present invention;

FIGS. 1a and 1b show detailed side and front views of the cart pusher ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 1c is a detailed end view of the roller platform assembly of FIG.1;

FIG. 1d is a simplified elevational view of the elevator mechanism ofFIG. 1 showing an alternative embodiment;

FIGS. 2a and 2b show perspective views of the novel carts of the presentinvention employed in the system of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 2c, 2d and 2e show top plan views of carts which are useful indescribing the various cart sizes and the manner in which a layer ofbundles are arranged thereto;

FIGS. 2f-2j are flow diagrams showing routines for controlling theautomatic loading system;

FIG. 2k is a sectional view of a door latch for use with the cart doorsof FIGS. 2a and 2b;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the roller platform assembly,pusher assembly, split platform assembly and elevator assembly of FIG. 1in greater detail;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the elevator assembly of FIGS. 1and 4 in greater detail; and

FIGS. 4a and 4b respectively show side and end views of a rodlesscylinder assembly for operating the fork-like platform of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a view of the conveyor that lowers the bundles above the cartin FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSTHEREOF

FIG. 1 shows a system 10 designed in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention and comprised of an infeed conveyor 12 arranged toreceive bundles B from counting, stacking and bundling equipment (notshown). The delivery conveyor has a moving conveyor belt 14 whichadvances bundles from right to left. The bundles are typically deliveredalong conveyor 12 at a rate of the order of thirty-two to thirty-fiveper minute. The bundles are typically delivered at a height of the orderof three feet or so above the floor or supporting surface upon which thesystem 10 is located. A ramp conveyor 16 is provided with a movable belt18 for moving bundles along an upwardly inclined path to a rollerplatform assembly 20.

Each bundle B is comprised of a plurality of signatures or newspaperssuitably wrapped or tied to maintain the integrity of the bundle.Although not shown for purposes of simplicity, the signatures in eachbundle may contain a plurality of inserts which causes each newspaper tohave a bulging side or sides yielding a composite bundle of signatureshaving a "watermelon-shaped" configuration. Obviously, any other bundlesand/or boxes or packages of a similar size or range of sizes may beloaded into carts or containers through the utilization of the system ofthe present invention.

It should further be understood that the conveyors 12 and 16 may be of avariety of different lengths in order to accommodate the existinginstallations of mailrooms and circulation facilities. In the preferredembodiment, the bundles are delivered from a conveyor 12 of a height ofthe order of three or so feet above the ground along the ramp conveyor18 to a height or about six feet.

Also, the bundles may be delivered at the height of platform 20eliminating the need for a ramp conveyor. Alternatively, the bundles maybe delivered from a source above platform 20 whereby ramp conveyor 18may convey bundles downwardly from the bundle source to platform 20, asshown in simplified schematic fashion in FIG. 5.

The bundles are delivered from the ramp conveyor 18 to the rollerplatform assembly 20 which, in turn, is comprised of a plurality ofindividual selectively powered roller assemblies 22, 24, 26 and 28 shownin greater detail in FIG. 1c. Each assembly is comprised of a power unit22a through 28a or powering those rollers R associated with the rollersection, power being selectively controlled by CPU 32 applying thecontrol signals to control inputs 22c through 28c for automatically andindependently controlling each roller section.

The individual roller sections 22-28 may be operated by a single motor29 coupled to a drive chain arranged within elongated channel 31, bymeans of a gear reducing assembly 33 whose output is coupled to a drivesprocket located at the left-hand end of channel 31, and a free-wheelingdriven sprocket (not shown) being arranged at the left-hand end ofplatform 31, relative to FIG. 3.

Each of the roller sections 22-28 is preferably provided with a clutchmechanism 28e coupled between a driven sprocket such as 28d for rollersection 28 which engages and is rotated by the chain arranged withinchannel 31. The clutch couples power from the driven sprocket 28d to theassociated roller section by means of a control signal applied at 28cfor engaging the clutch assembly. If desired, however, any other type ofindependent control means may be utilized which is capable of yieldingindependent and selective operation of the individual roller sections 22through 28.

A sensor 22b through 28b is associated with each roller section 22-28for detecting the presence of a signature bundle, as will be more fullydescribed. The length of each roller section 22 through 28 is sufficientto accommodate a bundle B so that the length of each section is at leastequal to and preferably slightly greater than the length L of a typicalbundle.

The number of roller sections 22-28 is a function of the number ofbundles making up each row of the plural rows of layers stacked withinthe cart.

FIGS. 2c-2e show a top plan view of a cart looking down upon theplatform P thereof. Considering FIG. 2c, the bottom layer of bundlesdelivered to the cart is comprised of four bundles arranged intwo-by-two fashion, i.e. two rows of two bundles per row. As will beclearly understood from the description to be set forth hereinbelow,bundles B1 and B2 are initially delivered to the downstream end of theroller platform assembly and bundles B3 and B4 are subsequentlydelivered to the downstream end of the roller platform assembly 20 inorder to provide the two-by-two arrangement as shown in FIG. 2c. Anotheralternative arrangement is shown in FIG. 2d wherein the bottom layer iscomprised of six bundles arranged in two-by-three fashion with thebundles B1 and B2 initially delivered to the downstream end of theroller platform assembly followed by bundles B3 and B4 and ultimatelybundles B5 and B6.

FIG. 2e shows still another arrangement in which the bottom layer iscomprised of six bundles arranged in three-by-two fashion whereinbundles B1 through B3 are initially delivered to the downstream end ofthe roller platform assembly 20, followed by bundles B4 through B6. Thearrangement of FIG. 2e is preferred over the arrangement of FIG. 2dsince the pusher means operates one less time to push the rows onto thesplit platform assembly as will be more fully described hereinbelow.Other arrangements are possible, the next obvious arrangement being athree-by-three arrangement. It should further be understood that eachcart receives a plurality of layers of bundles, each layer beingdeposited atop the previous layer. In a typical design of a two-by-threelayer cart having six layers, the cart is thus capable of accommodatinga total of thirty-six bundles. In a two-by-two arrangement, the cart iscapable of accommodating twenty-four bundles and in a three-by-threearrangement, a cart is capable of accommodating fifty-four bundles, forexample.

Considering first the arrangement of FIG. 2c comprised of two rows ofbundles each row having two bundles (the first row being comprised ofbundles B1 and B2 and the second row being comprised of bundles B3 andB4), the platform roller assembly 20 is preferably comprised of fourroller sections 22 through 28 thus being capable of temporarily storingtwo bundles (such as bundles B3 and B4) while the two previouslydelivered bundles (B1 and B2) are pushed onto the split platform as willbe more fully described hereinbelow. Providing at least two additionalroller sections for buffer storage significantly reduces cycle time thussignificantly increasing productivity.

The operation of the roller sections under the control of the sensorsand CPU 32 is as follows:

As the first bundle B advances along ramp conveyor 16, power isdelivered to all four roller sections 22-28 causing the first bundle tosuccessively move from section 22 to 24 to 26 and ultimately to section28. Movement of the bundle beyond section 28 is prevented by barrierplate 30. CPU 32 looks for the presence of a bundle at sensor 28b asshown in the flow diagram of FIG. 2f. The counter, delay and comparecircuits will shut down the system if a bundle is not delivered after apredetermined delay period. This technique may be employed at other likelocations throughout the program to shut down the system in the eventthat a bundle is not delivered to a particular destination within anacceptable time interval. Use of this arrangement has been omitted atlike locations in the program for purposes of simplicity. When a bundleis present, section 28 is turned off after a predetermined delay D1, theroller section being activated for a delay time period D1 sufficient toassure that the bundle has not rebounded away from barrier 30 and isstably being maintained in the proper position. Turning off section 28after the delay prevents the bundle from being damaged due to prolongedsliding engagement of the rotating rollers with the bottom surface ofthe bundle.

Section 28 is turned off, sensor 26b is activated and is examined todetermine presence of a bundle. When a bundle is detected, section 26 issimilarly turned off after a similar delay D1 imposed to achieve thesame objective in imposing the delay D1 prior to turn off of section 28.Thereafter, sensor 24b is activated and the same iterative steps areperformed with regard to sections 24 and 22. These steps have beenomitted from the flow diagram for purposes of brevity.

When roller section 26 is turned off, the program advances to the pusherroutine to be described more fully hereinbelow.

The pusher assembly 36 comprises a pusher plate 38 mounted to a pair ofdownwardly depending arms 39a, 39b secured to a housing 40. A pair ofelongated rods 41a, 41b are mounted in spaced parallel fashion and havetheir ends secured to a pair of support plates 42a, 42b secured to thesystem famework F. Rods 41a, 41b extend through openings in housing 40which is adapted to be freely slidable along rods 41a and 41b. It shouldbe understood that suitable bearings and/or bushings B shown in dottedfashion are provided in the housing to render housing 40 freely slidablealong rods 41a and 41b.

A motor M1 is secured to the framework F which motor is a pusher andcontrol servo whose output is coupled to a drive timing pulley P1through a gear box GB. A driven timing pulley P2 is rotatably mounted tomounting plate 42b through a suitable bracket 43 and pin means 43a. Atiming belt 44 is entrained about timing pulleys P1 and P2. The lowerrun 44a of the timing belt 44 is secured to a timing belt mounting plate40a provided on the top of housing 40 and is secured thereto as shown at44b.

The operation of the pusher is such that position and velocity servo M1is energized and is driven in a direction causing the pusher plate 38 topush up against the first two bundles B1 and B2 delivered to rollersections 28 and 26 respectively. The position and velocity servo israpidly operated for a period of time sufficient to push the bundlesupon a split platform assembly 50 to be more fully described and moreparticularly to push the first two bundles, B1 and B2, against a backingplate 51.

FIG. 2g shows the pusher routine whereupon a signal from the CPUindicating that bundles B1 and B2 have been delivered to the rollersections 28 and 26 and that these roller sections have been halted, therow flag is examined. If the row flag is not set upon examination, it isthen set whereupon sensors 52a and 52b are activated. The pusher motorM1 is activated to push the pusher through the maximum stroke to pushthe bundles B1 and B2 against stop plate 51. Sensors 52a and 52b areexamined to determine if a bundle is present. If either bundle isabsent, after a delay period, a counter is incremented. The count isthen examined and if the count reaches a predetermined value, the systemis halted. Once both bundles are indicated as being present, the pusheris returned to the start position and the pusher routine jumps back tothe roller section program which, as shown in FIG. 2f activates sensor28b and activates all of the roller sections 22 through 28 and seeks abundle. When a bundle is present, section 28 is turned off after a delayD1 and sensor 26b is examined. When a bundle is present on section 26,section 26 is turned off whereupon the program jumps to the pusherroutine shown in FIG. 2g. Thus, when the split platform section 50 isloaded with the bundles making up a layer, such as a layer of two-by-twobundles shown in FIG. 2c, the split platform is operated to deliver thelayer of bundles deposited thereon into the cart indexed at the loadingposition.

The split platform assembly 50 is comprised of first and second rollerplatform sections 54, 56 each comprised of a plurality of free-wheelingrollers whose axial length is sufficient to receive the desired numberof rows of bundles, there being a sufficient number of rollers in eachsplit platform section 54 and 56 to collectively accommodate the numberof bundles in each row. In the example shown in FIG. 2c, each splitplatform section is capable of supporting two bundles, the platformsection being capable of supporting bundles B1 and B3 and platformsection 52 being capable of supporting bundles B2 and B4.

Each split platform section is moved by a cylinder 58, 60 respectivelyassociated with each split platform and having a piston rod 58a, 60acoupled to the platform, each cylinder being adapted to move the splitplatform sections together as shown in FIG. 3 preparatory to receivingbundles and for rapidly driving the split platform sections apart asshown by the arrows A2 and A3. See the program routine of FIG. 2h. Thesplit platform sections 54 and 56 are moved apart rapidly enabling thebundles deposited thereon to fall by gravity into the cart presentlyindexed at the loading position and ultimately onto the platform 112.

FIGS. 2a and 2b show two different perspective views of a cart 70utilized in the automatic loading system 10 and comprised of a floor orplatform P supported by a plurality of rugged, durable casters 72provided at each corner of the underside of platform P. The casters aremounted for rotation about a vertical axis 73 as shown by arrow A4, inFIG. 2b.

Cart 70 has three fixed sides 74, 76 and 78, each having a substantiallyrectangular-shaped frame 74a, 76a, 78a provided with intermediary,integral cross pieces 74b-74c, 76b-76c and 78b-78c. A plurality ofvertically aligned, spaced, parallel bars 74d, 76d and 78d are securedto the upper horizontal member of the frames 74a, 76a and 78a and thehorizontal members 74b, 76b and 78b respectively. Similar groups ofvertically oriented, spaced, parallel bars 74e, 76e, 78e and 74f, 76f,78f are similarly secured to associated horizontal members of eachsidewall, yielding an open, cage-like cart and yet one having sufficientinherent structural strength to provide a rugged cart capable ofwithstanding heavyduty use. If desired, the vertical bars may beone-piece members extending between the upper and lower horizontalmembers of each sidewall frame and extending through the reinforcingmembers 74b, 76b, etc.

The fourth sidewall 80 is comprised of a pair of hingedly mounted doors82, 84 each having a rectangular-shaped frame 82a, 84a, each providedwith hinges, such as the hinges H for swingably moving the doors betweena closed (solid line) position and any one of a variety of openpositions shown in dotted line fashion as 82', 82" and 82'" and 84', 84"and 84'". Each door is provided with vertically oriented, spaced,parallel uprights 82b and 84b respectively secured to the upper andlower horizontally aligned portions of frames 82a and 82b. The doors maybe retained in the locked position by a pair of locking means 86 and 88each having a locking bolt 86a, 88a arranged on frame 84a into anassociated receiving housing 86b, 88b for receiving its associatedsliding bolt. Any other suitable type of releasable locking means may beutilized. In addition, or as an alternative to the locking meansdescribed hereinabove, similar sliding bolt, may be provided at thelower inside portion of each frame and comprising a sliding bolt forslidable movement into an opening provided in platform P Note, forexample, FIG. 2b showing a locking means 96 provided on the inside frame84a of swingable door 84 and provided with a sliding bolt 90a movableinto an opening O in platform P. Although not shown for purposes ofsimplicity, similar locking means may be provided along the lowerinterior side of door 82.

FIG. 2k shows another self-locking arrangement wherein each door frame,such as frame 84a is provided with an opening for receiving a latch pin91. A cover plate 93 is mounted upon the surface 84a-1 of frame 84a andis secured thereto by fasteners F. Plate 93 has an opening aligned withthe opening in frame 84a. Platform P also has an opening aligned withthe pin 91, extending through plate 93 and frame 84a, when the door isin the closed position. Pin 91 has an enlarged head portion 91a and anannular shoulder 91b. A helical bias spring SP engages plate 93 andshoulder 91b. urging pin 91 downwardly toward the locked position. Thepin is removed from (or returned to) the locking hole in platform Psimply by gripping head 91a and lifting pin 91 upwardly against theforce of bias spring SP.

The structure of the doors 82 and 84, differs from the remainingsidewalls 74-78 of the cart in that horizontal reinforcing members havebeen omitted from the doors to enable insertion and unimpeded verticalsliding movement of the fork-like platform within the cart, as will bedescribed hereinbelow in greater detail.

Although the preferred embodiment of the cart 70 shown in FIGS. 2a and2b comprises a door for receiving the fork-like platform, the doors maybe provided with horizontal reinforcing members and one of the sidewallsmay be adapted to receive the fork-like platform by eliminating thehorizontal reinforcing members.

The cart may further be modified by replacing the pair of double doorswith a single door or alternatively, with upper and lower single doorsor two pair of double doors to facilitate a variety of options forfacilitating unloading of the carts. As was mentioned hereinabove, thecarts may handle four bundles or six bundles per layer (respectivelyarranged two-by-two or two-by-three) or even nine bundles per layer(arranged three-by-three). The double doors permit removal of thecontents of half of the layers at one time. One typical cart has aheight of the order of five foot two inches and is capable of receivingfive to seven layers per cart. The carts are preferably rated for twelvehundred pound loads. Assuming six two-by-three layers for a total ofthirty-six bundles with a weight of twenty-six pounds per bundle, thetotal/weight of the load is less than one thousand pounds, well withinthe rating of the cart.

The carts 70 may be made collapsible in order to permit a larger numberof empty carts to be returned by truck to the loading dock for return tothe loading system 10. The bottom of platform P may be hingedly mountedby hinges 79 enabling the platform P to be swung upwardly againstsidewall 78 (see FIG. 2b). In this particular case, the casters 72 aremounted to the side frames. With the floor platform P raised in themanner described, doors 82 and 84 are swung apart and against theexterior surfaces of sidewalls 74 and 78 respectively. Sidewall 76 foldsin half about hinges 81 to significantly reduce the "footprint" made bythe cart, enabling a large number of carts to be loaded into the truckcargo space. The cart may then be unfolded to the position shown, forexample, in FIG. 2a by reversing the order of steps undertaken tocollapse the cart, preparatory to loading bundles into the cart.

FIG. 1 shows the manner in which the carts are arranged and indexed inthe automated loading system.

System 10 is provided with a pair of elongated, channel-shaped cartguides 92 and 94 having outwardly tapered sides 92a, 94a whichfacilitate guiding of the cart casters 72 into the channel guides. Theguides 92, 94 are shown as being filled to capacity with four carts, 70,70', 70" and 70'". A cart 70"", shown in dotted fashion, is pushed upagainst the last cart 70 to enter into the guides in readiness forautomatic advancement. A drive motor 96 is provided with a sprocket 98having a chain 100 entrained around drive sprocket 98 and a drivensprocket 102 rotatably mounted upon a support bracket 104 by shaft 106.Motor 96 drives chain 100 in the direction so that its upper run movesin the direction of arrow A4. A plurality of pusher members 108 arearranged in spaced intervals along the length of chain 100 (note alsoFIGS. 1a and 1b) and have a forward surface 108a for engaging the lowerframe portion of frame 74a forming sidewalls 74. The pushers 108 arearranged at spaced intervals each interval, being greater than the widthW of a cart measured along the sidewall of the cart carrying the door.When a cart has been filled by the loading system 10, motor 96 isoperated to advance each pusher along the upper run of chain 100 adistance equal to approximately one cart length to advance the cart(70") in the loading position to the position occupied by cart 70'".Carts 70 and 70' are likewise advanced to occupy the positions shown bycarts 70" and 70' thus allowing space for one additional cart to bepushed onto the guides 92, 94. The cart 70"" may now be manually pushedinto the guides to occupy the position shown by cart 70. The pushers 108are hingedly coupled to chain 100 by angle bracket 109 and a couplingpin 111 enabling the pushers to swing in the counterclockwise direction(see FIGS. 1a and 1b) to be swung downwardly and out of the way of thecart 70"" being pushed onto the guides 92, 94. Recess 108b in pusher 108receives the chain 100 enabling the pusher 108 to move downwardly andout of the path of a cart. As soon as the cart is clear of the pusher108, the spring loading mechanism provided therein comprising a torsionspring 113 having an arm 113a resting against the rear end of pusher 108and an arm 113b coupled to the horizontal portion of angle bracket 109permits the pusher to swing counterclockwise and snaps the pusher to theupright position when the pusher clears the bottom of a cart. Theupright portion 109a of bracket 109 is engaged by the rearward end ofpusher 108 preventing pusher from rotating clockwise when in the uprightposition.

Any other mechanisms utitized for swingably moving the pushers in afirst direction, snapping them upwardly and preventing the pushers fromrotating counterclockwise when in the upright position may be utilizedand details therefor have been omitted herein for purposes ofsimplicity.

As was described hereinabove, after a layer of bundles has beendelivered to the split platform, cylinders 58 and 60 are operated toabruptly move the platform halves 54 and 56 apart causing the bundles onthe platforms to be "scraped" from their respective supporting platformhalves by the limit bars 57 and 59 which prevent the bundles from movingbeyond the limit bars, thereby "scraping" the bundles off of the splitplatform halves and causing them to drop downwardly into the cart beingloaded. The platform halves have free-wheeling rollers whichsignificantly reduce sliding friction between the bundles and theplatform sections. However, planar platform sections having a lowcoefficient of sliding friction may be employed.

The layer of bundles is prevented from dropping to the bottom of thecart and, in fact, falls a distance of only several inches, the bundlescoming to rest upon the tines 112a of a fork-like platform 112 formingpart of the cart loader elevating mechanism 110 which is comprised of anelongated substantially rectangular-shaped frame 114 which issubstantially vertically aligned and maintained upright by means of anintegral bracing frame 116 comprised of a base member 116a anddiagonally aligned struts 116b, 116c. A drive motor 118 is utilized toraise and lower the fork-like platform 112. Motor 118 is preferably aqualified brake motor which has an important safety feature in that thebrake engages whenever the power is turned off or fails therebypreventing the fork-like platform 112 from accidentally dropping from anelevated position. Motor 118 is preferably a two speed device, forexample, a thirty-six hundred/nine hundred rpm motor driving an outputgear 122 through gear box 120 which is a self-locking gear box having agear ratio of forty to one, also preventing the platform from moving theinput shaft of the gear box when the motor is off. Output gear 122drives a driven gear 124 mounted upon drive shaft 126 by means of chain128. A pair of drive sprockets 130 and 132 are fixedly secured to shaft126 together with driven sprocket 124 whereby rotation of drivensprocket 124 is imparted to drive sprockets 130 and 132 by way of shaft126. Each of the drive sprockets 130 and 132 impart rotation to a pairof driven sprockets 134, 136 by way of chains 138, 140 respectively,each driven sprocket being freely rotatably mounted upon an associatedsupport bracket (142, 144) by means of a stump shaft 146, 148. Two-speedbidirectional motor 118 operates to drive the fork-like platform up anddown in the following manner:

Initially, let it be assumed that the fork-like platform 112 is locatedat the uppermost position approximately four inches below the splitplatform assembly 50 with the fork-like platform extending into thecart. A layer of bundles is dropped from the split platform onto thefork platform and, after a predetermined delay, the program jumps overto the loading elevator routine shown in FIG. 2j. Initially, assumingthe platform 112 be located at its upper extreme position, approximatelyfour inches below the split platform 50, delay D3 is selected to besufficient to assure that the bundles of the present layer have droppedupon the platform 112 whereupon motor 118 is operated at its high speed.A sensor 150a is activated and a counter is examined. If the counter hasnot reached the predetermined count, after a predetermined delay, thecounter is incremented by one count. The program continues to looptherearound until the count C2 is reached at which time motor 118 ischanged to low speed and sensor 150a is examined. When sensor 150adetects The presence of the platform 112, power to the motor is turnedoff, automatically braking the motor and the routine then returns to themain program,

When the next layer of bundles is deposited upon be layer of bundlespreviously loaded upon platform 112, the downward movement describedhereinabove is repeated utilizing the next sensor 150b. Similar sensorsare positioned at set intervals along the left-hand side of frame 114,for example, with the lowermost sensor 150n being shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 1d shows an alternative arrangement for the elevator assembly 110employing upper and lower limit switches SW1 and SW2, upper home andnear-home switches HSW1 and NHSW1 and lower home and near-home switchesHSW2 and NHSW2. The lowering of platform 112 is controlled by photocellssuch as PC below split platform 50 (shown in dotted fashion in FIG. 1d)to look for clearance of the last layer of bundles being lowered.

As another alternative, motor 118 may be a velocity controlled variablespeed motor employed in combination with an external "fail-safe" brake.In place of selective operation at a high and low speed, the variablespeed motor is controlled by a software routine which accelerates from astandstill, maintains a constant speed, decelerates to a lower speed asthe near home switch (FIG. 1d) is detected and then turns off and brakesto a stop upon sensing the home switch.

As another alternative, the layers may each be delivered individuallyinto the cart by having the platform 112a receive a layer of bundles,lowering the layer to the bottom of the cart (or upon the last layerdelivered to the cart) and return to the start position just below thesplit platform 50.

Platform 112 is mounted upon a movable frame 152 having a substantiallyU-shaped configuration. One run, for example, the run 138a of chain 138is secured to frame 152 by suitable coupling means to move the frameeither upwardly or downwardly in the vertical direction under thecontrol of motor 118. A pair of guide frames 154 and 156 are joined toone another along the internal sides of the frame uprights 114a and 114bas well as joining struts 158. Frames 154 and 156 each have two pairs ofwheels that are preferably urethane coated wheels 160a, 162b which arerespectively rollingly mounted to spaced parallel sides of the frames154 and 156 to rollingly engage opposite surfaces of the frame uprights114a, 114b which are preferably formed of four inch by four inchrectangular steel tubing. The four sets of wheels 160a through 162bprevent the frame assembly supporting platform 112 from moving in thehorizontal direction relative to frame 114.

Two pairs of wheels 164a, 164b are arranged to rollingly engage theinterior surfaces of frame members 114a and 114b to centrally align thecart upon which the platform 112 is mounted between the uprights 114a,114b and to prevent horizontal movement of the cart relative to thevertical frame 114. Thus the sets of wheels 160a through 164b preventhorizontal movement of the cart assembly 152 in mutually perpendiculardirections relative to frame 114.

The two parallel sides 152a, 152b of the frame structure 152 are hollow,channel-shaped members for slidably receiving a housing 166 from whichthe fork-like tines 112a extend and to which the lines are integrallyjoined. The rectangular parallelepiped-shaped housing 166 is providedwith two pairs of wheels arranged on opposite parallel sides thereof. Afirst pair of outer wheels 168a rollingly engage the top and bottomhorizontally aligned surfaces of the channel-shaped frame portion 152b.A second pair of wheels 168b arranged to route about vertically orientedaxes which are perpendicular to the horizontally oriented axes aboutwhich rollers 168 rotate, rollingly engage the interior surface of thevertical side of the channel-shaped portion 152b. These two pairs ofwheels prevent relative movement of the housing 166 in both thehorizontal and vertical direction relative to frame 152. Similar pairsof wheels 168a and 168b are provided along the left-hand side of housing166 and function in a manner substantially identical to the pairs ofwheels arranged along the right-hand side of housing 166.

The top of housing 166 is provided with a projection 170 for mechanicalcoupling to the lower run of a timing belt 172 (see FIG. 4a) entrainedabout a drive timing belt pulley 174 driven by motor 176 and a driventiming belt pulley 178 rotatably mounted to frame member 154 by bracket180 and shaft 182. Projection 170 is secured to the lower run 172a oftiming belt 172 by suitable coupling means 170a. By rotating motor 176clockwise, the lower run 172a is moved to the left as shown by arrow 184to extend tines 112a into the cart arranged within the loading positionas shown by dotted line position 112a' in FIGS. 4 and 4a It should benoted that the carts are arranged so that the door members 82, 84 (seeFIG. 2a) are positioned adjacent to the elevating mechanism 110. Thetines 112a thus move into the cart without interference.

The motor 176 may be any suitable motor and may be abruptly halted whena predetermined element 166a, such as a magnet, is sensed by proximitysensors 188 and 190 to respectively indicate when the housing 166 andhence tines 112a have been moved to the fully-inserted (112a') andfully-withdrawn (112a) position relative to a cart being loaded. Ifdesired, a similar arrangement may be provided on frame 152 and frame114 wherein sensors 150-150n may be proximity switches for sensing amagnet or ferromagnetic member arranged on frame 152.

Summarizing the operation of the elevating mechanism, and assuming thata cart has just been fully loaded, platform 112 will be located at thebottommost position whereupon motor 176 is operated to withdraw platform112 from the cart. The bars 82b, 84b of the loaded cart prevent thebundles loaded therein from being withdrawn from the cart and hence actto "scrape" the bundles off of the platform 112.

As soon as the platform 112 reaches the fully-withdrawn position,element 166a (see FIG. 4a) is detected by sensor 190 whereupon motor 176is halted and motor 118 is operated at high speed to return the platformto the uppermost position. A predetermined number of counts areaccumulated as motor 118 is operating at high speed to lift the platform112. When the predetermined number of counts has been detected, motor118 is controlled to operate at the low speed. This position istypically in close proximity to the uppermost sensor 150, for example,whereupon when sensor 150 is detected, motor 118 is deenergized andabruptly brakes to a stop. When the next cart has been indexed into theloading position, motor 176 is activated to move platform 112c into thecart to support the first layer of bundles delivered to the cart. Theplatform 112 is lowered as each layer of bundles is deposited thereonuntil the platform is lowered to the lowermost position or any otherappropriate position (in the case where a cart is programmed to receiveless than the maximum number of bundles) whereupon the platform 112 isdelivered to the bottommost position and the platform 112 is withdrawnfrom the cart by motor 176 and is returned to the uppermost position inreadiness for loading another cart under the control or motor 118.

As an alternative to the motor 176 and timing pulley 172, the housing166 (FIG. 4a) may be reciprocated by means of any other suitable linearactuator such as a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder or a rodless cylinderas shown, for example, in FIG. 4b. Rodless cylinder 192 is fixedlysecured to frame 152 in any suitable manner and is provided with anelongated axially aligned slot 192a. A piston 192b is mounted withincylinder 192. Ports 192c and 192d are provided to receive pressurizedpneumatic or hydraulic fluid to respectively move piston 192b to theright or left. An arm 192e is secured to piston 192b and extendsoutwardly through elongated slot 192a and is coupled to projection 170provided on housing 166. Slot 192a is sealed with a moving seal toprevent the escape of the pressurized fluid. The sensors 188 and 190cooperate with the sensed element 166a to control operation of therodless pusher cylinder 192.

Each cart is provided with a static or active sensing element 200 shownbest in FIG. 1 capable of being read by an automatic reader/computer202. Members 200 may simply be a bar code pattern identifying each cart.This identifying pattern is then associated with the bundles loaded intothe cart and their destination. A hand-held sensor 204 at the loadingdock (FIG. 1) may then read each bar code pattern which will thenprovide information as to the destination of the cart, by reading anddisplaying the data in memory associated with the cart using the cartidentifying number as the address in memory storing the data related tothe bundles and their destinations. The data generated by thereader/computer 202 may be transferred to the hand-held reader by a databus 206 or by wireless.

As another alternative arrangement, each identifying member 200 may be amemory device capable of being written into and read by a read-writedevice 202 to provide information for identifying the destination of thecart and its particular contents. This information may then be read by ahand-held reader 204 at the loading dock which is limited to reading thecontents of the element 200 in order to identify with the destination ofthe cart and its particular contents. The hand-held reader provided atthe loading dock and the device 202 may be provided with electronicdisplay means and/or a small printer for printing out the data. Thislatter embodiment eliminates the need for transfer of data from thecomputer 202 to the hand-held reader 204.

It can be seen from the foregoing that the present invention provides anovel highly automated loading system for loading bundles or other likepackages into a loading cart in an efficient and high-speed manner andsignificantly reducing, if not almost totally eliminating, the manualactivity normally associated with such loading operations therebysignificantly reducing loading time and, in fact, reducing the number oftrucks needed to carry out delivery since the automated loading systemwill permit the same trucks to deliver and return multiple loads in thetime normally required for delivering a single and load and returning tothe loading dock.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in theforegoing disclosure, and in some instances, some features of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims beconstrued broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scopeof the invention herein described.

What is claimed is:
 1. Apparatus for automatically loading a cartcomprised of a platform surrounded by sidewalls and having an open top,at least one of said sidewalls having a plurality of vertically alignedelongated clearance slots;said apparatus comprising: a loading stationfor receiving and positioning said cart; means for receiving bundles tobe loaded into said cart; conveyor means adjacent said receiving meansfor conveying the bundles received from said receiving means to alocation a .[.predetermiend.]. .Iadd.predetermined .Iaddend.height abovean open end of said cart at said loading station; a platform assemblyfor receiving bundles from said conveyor means; said platform assemblybeing comprised of a plurality of sections; means for selectivelyadvancing bundles along said sections including means to halt theadvancing of bundles on each section responsive to detection of a bundleon said section; pusher means responsive to the presence of bundles upon.[.predetermiend.]. .Iadd.predetermined .Iaddend.ones of said sectionsfor pushing said bundles in a transverse direction onto a split platformmeans; said split platform means comprising first and second platformsections movable between a closed position wherein adjacent edges ofsaid platform sections are in close proximity and an open positionwherein said sections are moved apart to define a gap region betweensaid split platform sections; said gap region being positionedimmediately above the open end of said cart; and means responsive todelivery of bundles by said pusher means upon said split platformassembly for moving said split platform sections apart whereupon thebundles resting thereon are dropped through said gap region toward saidcart.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said split platform means hasa supporting surface area large enough to receive a plurality of groupsof bundles from said platform assembly wherein each group of bundlescomprises a predetermined number of bundles collected upon said platformassembly;said pusher means pushing a first group of said bundles to afirst position on said split platform furthest removed from saidplatform assembly; and said pusher means moving a next group of bundlesdelivered to said platform assembly to a location upon the surface ofsaid split platform means located between said platform assembly and thefirst group of bundles delivered to said split platform means.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2 further comprising:means for operating said splitplatform means comprising a pair of air cylinders each having a pistonmovable therein responsive to pressurized fluid applied to saidcylinder; each piston means including rod means with a first endextending into said cylinder for coupling with said piston and a secondend pivotally coupled to an associated one of said split platformsections for reciprocating said split platform sections.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the number of sections provided is greaterthan a number of bundles pushed onto said split platform means by saidpusher means.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the number of sectionsis twice the number of bundles pushed onto said split platform meansfrom said platform assembly by said pusher means.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1 further comprising:movably mounted platform means having aplurality of spaced substantially parallel tines cooperatively forming afork-like platform; means for reciprocating said fork-like platform in asubstantially horizontal plane from a first position wherein saidfork-like platform is inserted into the sidewall of a cart provided withsaid vertically oriented insertion slots, and a second position whereinsaid fork-like platform is totally withdrawn from said cart; means forreciprocating said fork-like platform in a vertical direction between anupper and a lower position; and means for moving said fork-like platformin a downward direction after the bundles delivered by the splitplatform means are dropped upon said fork-like platform responsive toopening of said split platform sections.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6further comprising:means for moving the cart from the loading stationand moving a cart adjacent to the loading station into the loadingstation responsive to removal of said fork-like platform from the cartin the loading station.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6 furthercomprising:means for reciprocating said fork-like platform in a verticaldirection including bidirectional, two-speed motor means; and meansresponsive to an output of said motor means for moving said fork-likeplatform.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising control meansfor said motor means for moving said motor means at a first, higherspeed and for operating said motor means at a second lower speed whensaid fork-like platform has travelled a predetermined distance from adesired location.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said motor meansis a qualified brake motor means including brake means which is engagedwhen power is removed from said motor means.
 11. The apparatus of claim8 wherein said means for horizontally reciprocating said fork-likeplatform comprises:a rodless cylinder means having an output membercoupled between said platform means and piston mounted within saidcylinder; said cylinder having an elongated axially aligned slot saidcoupling means moving along said slot; said slot being sealed to preventan escape of pressurized fluid introduced into said cylinder; and saidcylinder being provided with control ports for controlling a directionof movement of said piston according to the pressurized fluidselectively introduced into said ports.
 12. The apparatus of claim 6wherein said means for reciprocating the fork-like platform in asubstantially horizontal plane comprises:motor means; means responsiveto the operation of said motor means for rotating a drive gear; a freelyrotatable driven gear; a pulley entrained about said drive and drivengears; and means for coupling a first run of said pulley to said movablymounted platform means.
 13. The apparatus of claim 6 furthercomprising:means for reciprocating said fork-like platform in ahorizontal direction including bidirectional, variable speed motormeans; and means responsive to an output of said motor means for movingsaid fork-like platform.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 furthercomprising "fail-safe" brake means for selectively braking said variablespeed motor means.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pushermeans comprises:a pusher member; elongated guide members; a housingslidable along said elongated guide members; means extending from saidhousing for mounting said pusher member; motor means; and means coupledto motor means for moving said pusher means from a start positionadjacent one side of said roller platform assembly toward said splitplatform means.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said means forcoupling drive from said motor means and said pusher means furthercomprises:means responsive to the operation of said motor means forrotating a drive gear; a freely rotatable driven gear; a pulleyentrained about said drive and driven gears; and means for coupling afirst run of said pulley to said housing.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16wherein said motor means is a bidirectional motor.
 18. The apparatus ofclaim 1 where said carts are comprised of at least one releasablylockable door hingedly coupled to said cart along one side thereof andswingable between an open and a closed position; andlocking means forselectively locking said door in said closed position.
 19. The apparatusof claim 18 wherein said door comprises the sidewall provided with saidelongated .[.inserting.]. .Iadd.clearance .Iaddend.slots.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 19 wherein said elongated insertion slots are definedby a rectangular-shaped door frame having a plurality of rigid elongatedspaced parallel members secured to an upper and a lower side of saiddoor frame wherein regions between adjacent members and between verticalsides of said door frame and said members comprise said insertion slots.21. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one sidewall of said cartscomprises:first and second swingably mounted doors movable between aclosed position and an open position; and means for selectively lockingsaid doors in the closed position.
 22. The apparatus of claim 1 whereineach of said carts is provided with identification means;reading meansfor reading said identification means on said cart means and means forassociating the identification means with contents of the cart and thedestination for said contents; and remote reading means coupled to saidcentral reading means for obtaining information from said centralreading means for identifying the cart for a particular destination andincluding reading means for reading said carts to determine an identityof the cart and data associated with said destination.
 23. The apparatusof claim 1 further comprising:guide means for guiding said cart toward aloading position; means for automatically advancing the carts in saidguide means toward said loading position responsive to completion ofloading of a cart in the loading position.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23wherein said cart advancing means comprises:a drive means; a drive chainentrained about a first gear coupled to said drive means and a secondfree-wheeling gear; pusher members coupled to said chain at spacedintervals therealong for moving a said cart engaged by said pushermeans.
 25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said pusher meanscomprises:means for enabling each pusher means to swing downwardly whenmoved by a cart in a cart advancing direction to provide clearance forpushing the cart onto said guide means and bias means for automaticallymoving said pusher means to an upright position when said pusher meansclears the cart; and means preventing each pusher means from rotating ina second direction when in the upright position, thus assuring eachpusher means pushes a cart in a forward indexrag direction when theindexing drive motor means is energized.
 26. The apparatus of claim 1wherein said bundles are packages.
 27. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinsaid bundles are each comprised of newspapers wrapped to form a bundle.28. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conveyor means lifts thebundles toward a location above the cart.
 29. The apparatus of claim 1wherein the conveyor means lowers the bundles toward a location abovethe cart.
 30. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said platform assembly isa roller platform assembly and said sections comprise roller sections.31. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein said means for selectivelyadvancing bundles along said sections further comprises means forselectively rotating the rollers of said roller sections.
 32. Carts foruse in a system for automatically loading said carts including aplatform arranged above a loading position for receiving a carttherebeneath;said platform having a delivery opening whereby a cart inthe loading position has an upper end thereof aligned with saidopenings; split platform means comprising first and second platformsections movable between a first position closing said opening forreceiving the bundles thereon and a second position for unsealing saidopening; stop means on opposite parallel sides of said opening forlimiting movement of objects on said platform sections as they are movedto said second position whereby objects on said platform sections arecaused to fall downwardly through said openings; means for deliveringand arranging bundles upon said platform sections when in said firstposition; said cart being comprised of a platform; caster assembliesmounted upon the underside of said platform for rollingly moving saidplatform upon a supporting surface; a plurality of said walls extendingupwardly from said platform for enclosing said platform; said carthaving an open upper end defined by the upper ends of said sidewalls; atleast one of said sidewalls being provided with a plurality of elongatedspaced vertically aligned insertion slots adapted to receive a fork-likeplatform having a plurality of spaced parallel tines and being movablebetween a first position wherein said tines are inserted into respectiveones of said insertion slots and a second position wherein said tinesare withdrawn from said cart; and means for moving said platformdownwardly through a predetermined distance responsive to bundles beingdropped upon said fork-like platform through said delivery opening. 33.The apparatus of claim 32 wherein at least one of the sidewalls of saidcart comprises a hingedly mounted door to facilitate unloading ofbundles therefrom.
 34. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein at least one ofthe sidewalls of said cart comprises a pair of hingedly mounted doors tofacilitate unloading of bundles therefrom.
 35. The apparatus of claim 34further comprising releasable locking means for selectively retainingthe hingedly mounted doors in a locked position.
 36. The apparatus ofclaim 34 wherein said insertion slots are provided in said doors. 37.The apparatus of claim 32 further comprising means for hingedly mountingsaid platform and at least two opposing sidewalls thereof to facilitatecollapsing of said cart.
 38. The apparatus of claim 32 furthercomprising horizontal reinforcing means for reinforcing all of saidsidewalls except the sidewall having said insertion slots to enhancestructural strength of said cart.
 39. Apparatus for automaticallyloading a cart comprised of a platform surrounded by sidewalls andhaving an open top, at least one of said sidewalls having a plurality ofvertically aligned elongated clearance slots;said apparatus comprising:a loading station for receiving and positioning said cart; means forreceiving bundles to be loaded into said cart; conveyor means adjacentsaid receiving means for conveying the bundles received from saidreceiving means to a location a .[.predetermiend.]. .Iadd.predetermined.Iaddend.height above an open end of said cart at said loading station;a platform assembly for receiving bundles from said conveyor means; saidplatform assembly being comprised of a plurality of sections; means forselectively advancing bundles along said sections including means tohalt advancing of bundles on each section responsive to detection of abundle on said section; pusher means responsive to a presence of bundlesupon predetermined ones of said sections for pushing said bundles in atransverse direction onto a split platform means; said split platformmeans comprising first and second platform sections movable between aclosed position wherein adjacent edges of said platform sections are inclose proximity and an open position wherein said sections are movedapart to define a gap region between said split platform sections; saidgap region being positioned immediately above the open end of said cart;and means responsive to delivery of bundles by said pusher means uponsaid split platform assembly for moving said split platform sectionsapart whereupon the bundles resting thereon are dropped through said gapregion toward said cart; said cart being comprised of: caster assembliesmounted upon an underside of said platform for rollingly moving saidplatform upon a supporting surface; a plurality of sidewalls extendingupwardly from said platform for enclosing said platform; said carthaving an open upper end defined by the upper ends of said sidewalls; atleast one of said sidewalls being provided with a plurality of elongatedspaced vertically aligned insertion slots adapted to receive a fork-likeplatform having a plurality of spaced parallel tines and being movablebetween a first position wherein said tines are inserted into respectiveones of said insertion slots and a second position wherein said tinesare withdrawn from said cart; and means for moving said platformdownwardly through a predetermined distance responsive to bundles beingdropped upon said fork-like platform through said delivery opening..Iadd.
 40. Apparatus for automatically loading a wheeled cart comprisedof a floor, sidewalls and an open top, said apparatus comprising:a cartloading station at which a cart may be positioned for loading; platformmeans arranged above said cart loading station and having a supportingsurface of a size sufficient to receive a plurality of groups ofbundles; said platform means comprising at least one movable platformmember for supporting bundles delivered to said platform means, andbeing movable between a closed position and an open position to define agap region in said platform means; said gap region being positionedimmediately above an open top of a cart at said loading station;conveying means for receiving bundles and delivering received bundles toa location adjacent to said platform means; pusher means for pushing afirst group of said bundles from said conveying means onto saidplatform; said pusher means moving a second group of bundles deliveredto said platform means onto said platform means, said first and secondgroups of bundles being positioned upon said gap region; and meansresponsive to delivery of bundles by said pusher means upon saidplatform means gap region for moving the movable platform member to theopen position whereupon bundles located in the gap region are droppedthrough said gap region toward said loading station. .Iaddend..Iadd. 41.Apparatus for automatically loading a wheeled cart comprised of a floor,sidewalls and an open top, at least one of said sidewalls having anopening, said apparatus comprising:a cart loading station for receivinga cart to be loaded; first platform means arranged above the cartloading station for dropping bundles on said first platform means towardan open top of a cart at said cart loading station; second platformmeans being arranged beneath said first platform means for supporting atleast one bundle dropped by said first platform means; first means forselectively moving said second platform means in substantiallyhorizontal direction between a first position wherein said secondplatform means is inserted into a cart at said loading station and asecond position wherein said second platform means is withdrawn from acart at said loading station; said first platform means includingmovable support means to provide a gap region in said first platformmeans for dropping at least one bundle on said gap region through saidgap region and toward an open top of a cart at said loading station andupon said second platform means; and second means for moving said secondplatform means in a downward direction after a bundle is dropped uponsaid second platform means. .Iaddend..Iadd.
 42. The apparatus of claim41 further comprising:said second means for moving including means tomove said second platform means in a downward vertical direction adistance substantially equal to a height of a bundle responsive to abundle being dropped onto said second platform means. .Iaddend..Iadd.43.The apparatus of claim 42 wherein said cart at the loading station isprovided with means for retaining bundles in said cart when said secondplatform means is moved to said second position. .Iaddend..Iadd.44. Theapparatus of claim 41 wherein said second means further comprises meansfor moving said second platform means at a first, lower speed whenlowering said second platform means and for moving said second platformmeans at a second higher speed when raising said second platform means..Iaddend..Iadd.45. Apparatus for automatically loading a cart comprisedof a platform having a floor, sidewalls and an open top, said apparatuscomprising: loading station for receiving and positioning a cart;platform assembly above said loading section for delivering bundles to acart at said loading station; conveyor means for conveying the bundlesreceived from a receiving means to a location adjacent said platformassembly; pusher means responsive to a presence of bundles upon saidconveyor means for pushing said bundles onto said platform assembly;said platform assembly comprising at least one movable platform sectionmovable between a closed position and an open position to define a gapregion in said platform assembly; said gap region being positionedimmediately above an open end of a cart at said loading station; andmeans responsive to delivery of bundles by said pusher means upon saidplatform assembly for moving said movable platform section to said openposition whereupon bundles resting thereon are dropped through said gapregion toward said cart. .Iaddend..Iadd.46. The apparatus of claim 45wherein said platform assembly further comprises a second movableplatform section cooperating with said one movable platform section andmovable, together with said one movable section, between a closedposition where edges of said first and second sections are adjacent toone another and an open position where said edges are spaced apart todefine said gap region. .Iaddend.